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This Week In Pac-10 Football

THIS WEEK: Strictly non-conference action with nine games on the docket. Included are four Pac-10-Big Ten games and matchups against four Top 25 teams as UCLA visits No. 1-ranked Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan is at OREGON, ARIZONA STATE is at No. 18 Iowa and ARIZONA is at No. 25 Purdue. Here is a look at this week's schedule (Note: Ranking is the AP [media] poll first, followed by the ESPN/USA Today [coaches] poll):

PAC-10 COACHES' MEDIA TELECONFERENCES: Pac-10 head football coaches will be available on a media teleconference every Tuesday during the football season. The calls will be conducted every Tuesday through Nov. 18. Each coach is scheduled to be on the line for 10 minutes with the calls starting at 10:00 a.m. PDT/MST. In addition, a taped replay will be available at 3:00 PT/MT following the call and will be available until the next call. Media members may call the Conference office or any Pac-10 SID office to receive the media only number for both the live teleconference or the taped replay. Following is the schedule for the coaches' teleconferences:

PAC-10 IN THE POLLS: Five Pac-10 teams are ranked in the Top 25 in the polls and a total of seven Conference teams receive votes. The Pac-10 and the Big 12 are the only leagues with nine teams receiving votes in the polls. Following are the rankings of Pac-10 teams in the AP (media) and ESPN/USA Today (coaches) polls:

CALIFORNIA (1-3) at ILLINOIS (1-2) - 11:00 CDT/9:00 PDT - The Series: California and Illinois have met eight times with the Illini holding a 7-1 series advantage. In four games at Champaign, Illinois leads 3-1. . . . Last Meeting: California and Illinois opened the 2001 season at Berkeley and the Illini jumped out to an early 24-0 lead and never looked back in cruising to a 44-17 victory. Illinois would go on to finish 10-2, win the Big Ten championship and go to the Nokia Sugar Bowl (the Rose Bowl was hosting the BCS National Championship Game). Illinois passed for 297 yards and took advantage of five Cal turnovers. . . . Coaching Note: Illinois coach Ron Turner is a Bay Area native (Martinez) and did stints as an assistant coach at three different Pac-10 schools--Arizona (1978-80), USC (1985-87) and Stanford (1989-91).

MICHIGAN (3-0) at OREGON (3-0) - 12:30 PDT - ABC regional telecast - The Series: Oregon and Michigan have met three times with the Wolverines not only winning all three, but throwing shutouts each time. All three of the previous games were played at Ann Arbor . . . Last Meeting: Oregon and Michigan last met in 1973 at Ann Arbor with the Wolverines winning 24-0. Michigan had a total offense edge of just 240-235. Bo Schembechler's Wolverines would go on to finish 10-0-1 that season.

IDAHO (0-3) at WASHINGTON (1-1) - 12:30 PDT - The Series: Washington and Idaho have met 36 times with the Huskies holding a commanding 32-2-2 series lead. Most of the games have been played at Seattle where UW has never lost to Idaho in posting a 30-0-2 record, including 24-0-1 at Husky Stadium. Washington has won the last 15 games in the series dating back to 1940. . . . Last Year: Washington and Idaho met at Seattle and the Huskies rolled to their 17 consecutive home win behind the arm of QB Cody Pickett. Washington rolled up 30 first downs and 567 yards total offense as Pickett completed 32 of 44 (.727) for 438 yards and three TDs with no interceptions. WR Charles Frederick had five receptions for 142 yards (28.4), including a highlight-reel short pass he turned into a 74-yard touchdown. Pickett's Idaho counterpart QB Brian Lindgren was impressive in his own right in completing 22 of 38 for 309 yards and two TDs. . . . Coaching Note: Washington head coach Keith Gilbertson was head man at Idaho from 1986-1988 with current Vandal head coach Tom Cable serving as a graduate assistant in 1987-88. Later, when Gilbertson was head coach at California (1992-95), Cable was on his staff.

UCLA (1-1) at OKLAHOMA (3-0) - 2:30 CDT/12:30 PDT - ABC regional telecast - The Series: UCLA and Oklahoma have met just twice with the Sooners taking both games. Oklahoma won at home in 1986 (38-3) and at Pasadena in 1990 (34-14). The Sooners finished last season in the Rose Bowl, defeating Washington State 34-14. . . . Last Meeting: UCLA and Oklahoma, both Top 25 teams, met on a 102-degree day at the Rose Bowl early in the 1990 season. The Sooners used a strong running game, defense and turnovers to post a 34-14 victory. Oklahoma ran the ball 65 times for 299 yards and turned six Bruin turnovers into 20 points. UCLA could manage just 10 first downs, 28 yards rushing and 203 yards total offense. The Bruin defense forced five Sooner turnovers as well.

NEW MEXICO (1-2) at WASHINGTON STATE (2-1) - 2:00 PDT - The Series: First meeting. . . . Coaching Note: Head coaches Bill Doba of Washington State and Rocky Long of New Mexico have been across the field from one another plenty of times. Doba was WSU's long-time defensive coordinator prior to moving up to the head job this season, while Long was his opposite number as defensive coordinator at both Oregon State (1991-95) and UCLA (1996-97) before taking the Lobo job.

ARIZONA STATE (2-0) at IOWA (3-0) - 5:00 CDT/3:00 MST/PDT - ESPN2 national cablecast - The Series: Arizona State and Iowa have met just once with the Sun Devils prevailing 17-7 in the 1997 Sun Bowl. . . . Last Meeting: Arizona State and Iowa met in the 1997 Sun Bowl and the Sun Devils capped a 9-3 season with a 17-7 win. The ASU defense limited Iowa to 10 first downs, 19 yards rushing, 209 yards total offense and recorded six QB sacks.

BOISE STATE (2-0) at OREGON STATE (2-1) - 4:00 PDT - The Series: Oregon State and Boise State have met just twice with the Beavers winning both games. OSU prevailed 34-3 at Corvallis in 1986, and 37-30 at Boise in 1989. . . . Last Meeting: Oregon State and Boise State met at Boise in 1989 with the Beavers taking a 37-30 decision. Both teams passed for more than 300 yards and the total offense came out OSU 427-BSU 426. The Beaver defense picked off four interceptions.

OUT OF OUR LEAGUE: After a 5-1 week vs. non-conference foes, Pac-10 teams have posted an 16-8 (.667) mark against outsiders. Five of the eight losses came to Top 25 teams, with four of those contests on the road.

ARIZONA: Wildcats hit the road for the first time this year with a trip to Purdue. . . . Arizona defense has forced nine fumbles, recovering six. . . . WR Biren Ealy posted career-best numbers last week with seven catches for 90 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown reception. Ealy has led the team in receptions in two of three games this year. . . . Despite playing from behind much of the time, Arizona offense has allowed just five quarterback sacks in three games. . . . Wildcats have lost only two fumbles all year.

ARIZONA STATE: Sun Devils venture outside of Tempe for first time this year with consecutive road games at Iowa and Oregon State. . . . QB Andrew Walter has six TD passes and just one pick in first two games. Walter opened the season with 51 passes without an interception before getting one picked off. . . . S Riccardo Stewart has led ASU in tackles in each of first two wins and is averaging 10.5 stops per game. . . . Devils defense posted seven QB sacks last week with DEs Jimmy Verdon(3-18) and Brian Montesanto (2-22) leading the way. . . . ASU has yet to attempt a field goal this year. . . . Sun Devils have outscored opponents 46-14 in first half. . . . Opponents are averaging just 1.7 yards per rush against ASU.

CALIFORNIA: Golden Bears finish out the non-conference schedule with a road game at Illinois, then return home for first two league contests against USC and Oregon State. . . . WR Geoff McArthur has led the team in receiving yards in each of the first four games. His four-game totals: 25 catches for 470 yards (18.8) and five TDs. . . . QB combo of Reggie Robertson and Aaron Rodgers has completed 61.4% of passes for 257.3 yards per game with 11 TDs and just three interceptions. . . . Cal has been penalized just 37.8 yards per game. . . . TB Adimchinobe Echemandu is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

OREGON: Game this week vs. Michigan is No. 100 for Mike Bellotti as UO head coach. . . . With win at Arizona last week, Oregon has won its Pac-10 opener seven straight years. . . . Hard to argue with Ducks' two-headed quarterback operation so far as Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife have combined through three games to complete 64% of their passes for an average of 284 yards per game with 11 TDs and no interceptions. . . . UO WRs Samie Parker (108.7) and Demetrius Williams (104.3) are each averaging more than 100 yards per game receiving. . . . Oregon is outscoring opponents 44-0 in the first quarter. . . . Oregon is averaging 198.7 yards rushing while Duck defense is allowing just 71.7 yards per game rushing.

OREGON STATE: Beavers are in the middle of a three-game homestand and close out the non-conference portion of the schedule vs. Boise State this week. . . . Boise State comes to Corvallis riding the nation's second-longest current win streak at 13 games (trails only Ohio State's 17). . . . Boise will face a Beaver team that has won 17 straight non-conference games at Reser Stadium and 24 of its last 27 home games overall. . . . SE James Newson has at least one catch in last 27 games, tied with UW WR Reggie Williams for longest current consecutive reception streak in Pac-10. . . . TB Steven Jackson has scored five of the Beavers' 11 TDs this season. . . . DE Bill Swancutt has recorded at least one QB sack in each of his last five games and has produced at least one tackle for loss in 15 of his last 16 contests. . . . Beaver defense has allowed just three TDs in three games. . . . OSU offense has allowed only two QB sacks.

STANFORD: Cardinal faces a tough stretch with next three games on the road against BYU, Washington and USC. Stanford does not have a home game until Oct. 18 (Washington State). This week, Stanford will be playing its second game, BYU its fourth. . . . Redshirt freshman Trent Edwards will get the nod as starting QB at BYU after an impressive performance in his collegiate debut in Stanford opener vs. San Jose State. Edwards came off the bench to rally Cardinal from 10-0 deficit to 31-10 win, throwing for 278 yards and two TDs. . . . Stanford's starting offensive line in season opener had a total of 34 starts going into the game, all by four-year starting OT Kirk Chambers. The other four O-line starters had a combined total of zero starts. . . . Stanford encouraged by defense allowing only 10 points in opener vs. San Jose State after the Card was torched for 34.3 points per game last year. . . . Expolsive WR Luke Powell looked like he was back in healthy form with 12 catches for 172 yards (14.3) and two TDs in opener.

UCLA: Win against Illinois was first victory for new head coach Karl Dorrell, but the 500th win in UCLA history. . . . It marked the Bruins' sixth straight win in a home opener. UCLA also has won 11 of its last 13 non-conference regular-season games dating back to 1999. . . . Bruin defense has carried the load, allowing just 9.5 points per game, 77.5 yards rushing (2.1 yards per carry) and 264.0 yards per game total offense. . . . DE Dave Ball has three of UCLA's seven QB sacks. . . . OLB Brandon Chillar has led Bruins in tackles in each of first two games, posting 13 stops in each contest. . . . SE Craig Bragg is averaging 14.1 yards on punt returns.

USC: Trojans have an open date this week before starting league play with consecutive road games at California and Arizona State. . . . USC has won 11 straight dating back to last year. That's the Trojans' longest win streak since 1979-80. It's also the third-longest current win streak in the nation behind Ohio State (17) and Boise State (13). . . . Freshmen TBs Reggie Bush and LenDale White each rushed for two TDs vs. Hawai`i last week. . . . SC offense has been fierce against the rush. Through three games, opponents are averaging just 50.7 yards per game and 1.9 yards per rush. Trojans have yet to allow a rushing TD. In fact, SC has not allowed a rushing TD in past 22 quarters. Plus no opposing runner has rushed for 100 yards against USC for the past 16 games. . . . USC has intercepted a pass in the last 13 games. . . . FL Keary Colbert has caught a pass in 26 consecutive games. . . . Trojans have scored at least 30 points in 10 of last 11 games, and have won each of last eight games by at least 17 points. . . . Trojans have outscored opponents 62-11 in the first half this year and have not allowed a TD in the opening half.

WASHINGTON: Huskies have three of next four at home. . . . Huskies have won nine in a row vs. non-conference opponents at home. . . . UW has not allowed any fourth-quarter points in first two games. . . . DT Terry Johnson has posted five tackles for loss (-24) and three QB sacks (-20) in first two contests. . . . Husky running game went for 195 yards--the most in two years--in home-opener win vs. Indiana. Redshirts freshman TB Shelton Sampson had two TD runs (six and four yards) on the first and fourth carries of his career. . . . Huskies are outscoring opponents 37-10 in the second half. . . . WR Reggie Williams and OSU SE James Newson have longest current receiving streaks in Pac-10 at 27 straight games.

WASHINGTON STATE: QB Matt Kegel has passed for 584 yards and five TDs in road games at Colorado and Notre Dame the last two weeks. . . . Plus Cougar offense is averaging 182.3 yards per game on the ground. . . . SE Sammy Moore is turning heads with big plays. Two weeks ago at Notre Dame he had two TD receptions, including a circus catch that sent the game into overtime. In win at Colorado last week, Moore opened the scoring with a 74-yard TD reception from Kegel, and returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for a score. . . . WSU defense has allowed just one rushing TD in three games. . . . Cougs outscoring opponents 32-6 in first quarter and 52-16 in first half. . . . Leading rusher RB Jonathan Smith is averaging 6.7 yards per carry.